Should we use local surgeon or Dr. Luketich.

Heeran
Heeran Member Posts: 171
in Esophageal Cancer #1
My mother is currently going through chemo/radiation and we just interviewed a surgeon in Omaha. Apparently, I went to high school with him so that would put him at 35 years old. He seems very confident, smart, assertive but I got a bit concerned when he said, "I've already done 10 esophagectomies this year." I asked how many he's done in his career and he said about 70. Do you guys think this is alot?

I called Dr. Luketich's office today and left a message. I know he's the best but am wondering if the travel, complications, and just the logistics will be hard on my mom. For those of you who traveled there, any thoughts on regrets or if you definitley thought it was well worth it? I just don't know what I'll do if let's say we get back to Omaha and there's complications. Not sure where to turn.

My mother is terrified of surgery and is wondering if opting out is out of the question. She keeps asking the oncologist if there's any possibility of not having the surgery. I've repeated many times that it's a priveledge to be able to have it but she keeps getting scared she'll die at the operating table. She knew a person who had this surgery but during the procedure, something went wrong with the lung and he died 3 months later.

Comments

  • chemosmoker
    chemosmoker Member Posts: 501
    #2
    no debate here
    Dr. Luketech is not only the gold standard, HE INVENTED the MIE from what I have read.

    This, to me, is like asking should I go the the local cardiac ready-clinic, or the biggest teaching hospital in the county, to have life-saving open heart surgery?

    As Michelle said, this is her ONLY chance to survive this, the surgery.
    THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS!

    If there is ANY way to get there, get there!

    Personally, I think William is the expert here.
    Waiting for him to chime in and advise you.

    I am SURE there are many other surgeons that are capable, and many have done many of these procedures. But the doc you mentioned has not done enough of these at ALL!! That number scares me silly. Dr. Luketech has TRAINED many others in his technique as well, and you could have one of them with good results, but if you can see the man himself, why would you not??

    So again if you can get to UPMC, there should be NO debate.

    God bless and wishing you and yor mom the best!!
    -Eric
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Wpturner05
    Wpturner05 Member Posts: 114
    #4
    Surgery
    When my husband was still a candidate for surgery, we were told that if we did not go to UPMC that we should not settle on a center that does any less than 200 surgeries a year. This is a HUGE life changing - life saving surgery. It requires skill, expertise and experience - not only from your surgeon, but also from every healthcare professional that you come in contact with in the hospital. I spent time working as a nurse on a surgical floor and I can assure you that once the surgeon is done, there is A LOT of very important things that happen that are in the nurses hands and the staff on the floor that assist.

    Good luck in your decision.

    Sincerely,
    Whitney
  • JimboC
    JimboC Member Posts: 264
    #5
    Me too
    I just had to add a me too here. If you scan the many posts here, one surgeon's name will come up at least 10 times more than anyone else. That is Dr. Luketich at UPMC in Pittsburgh. So many of us here (myself included) owe our very life to Dr. Luketich and his team. Understanding that we all have different insurance and financial situations, if Pittsburgh isn't a viable option at least ask for a referral from UPMC for a more local surgeon who has trained under Dr. Luketich.
  • Heeran
    Heeran Member Posts: 171
    #6
    Thank you
    thank you for your comments. I've left a couple messages for Chuck the PA, but he must be busy. Have not been able to get in contact with him yet.

Discussion Boards